Top 5 Ways Doctors can Leverage Social Media

The health industry is becoming more and more competitive as the aging population grows in the

United States. While major hospitals and medical clinics have the upper hand when it comes to

attracting clients because of large advertising budgets, doctors and physicians who own smaller

practices deal with much smaller marketing budgets and therefore have to get creative on how

they attract new clients. If you’re a doctor that’s struggling to attract new patients, use the

following five tips on how to leverage social media in your favor:

1. Educate and Interact, Never Offer Advice

A quick tip that every medical professional should follow is to never offer official advice to one

particular patient through social media. This can be a recipe for disaster, especially when it

comes to HIPAA.

Social media is a tool that is best used for educating your followers about general medical topics.

Patients are always interested to learn a new bit of information that could potentially improve

their health in the future, and posting daily tips or tidbits about recent medical news can help

increase you’re following, especially if your posts are shared with friends or family members of

your followers.

2. Add Images or Infographics to Each Post

When dealing with medical issues, statistics and terminology, consumers often find it difficult to

understand exactly what something means. The best way to avoid this is to use an image along

with your post.

Your loyal followers who read your posts every day won’t spend more than a couple minutes on

your particular page at a time. Get your point across quickly, grab their attention, and hope that

they share your post with others.

3. Post on LinkedIn Every Day

While LinkedIn might not be the best tool to attract more customers, you must use the platform

to network with other professionals who are doctors and medical professionals as well. They can

be a great source for referrals and new patients. To avoid any conflicts, focus on networking with

people who specialize in a totally separate area of medicine than you do.

4. Ask Questions On Twitter

Asking questions is a great way to engage your audience and leverage the more “personal” side

of your profession.

Many doctors are viewed as individuals who have knowledge about every subject and need little

advice from others on any medical subject. Asking questions and obtaining opinions from other

medical professionals is a great way of showing your followers that you care enough about their

health to double check that your decision our diagnosis is accurate.

5. Offer Discounts and Special Promotions

Treat your medical practice like any business owner would treat their company. Use social media

to offer special promotions on specific procedures or encourage more people to make an

appointment by entering patients who visit you during a specified time period into a raffle for a

prize of significant value.

Eric Vainer has more than 20 years of experience working both in for-profit and not-for-profit

environments. Vainer is a licensed pedorthist.